SYSTEM-REINSTALL-BOOTC(8)

💖 SYSTEM-REINSTALL-BOOTC(8) 💖

okay bestie, gather round, because this is the one that wipes your whole system and gives it a glow-up ✨ it lives in the System Manager's Manual, section 8, and its whole name is system-reinstall-bootc. yes it's giving main character energy. yes it's also giving "please read every word before you type it". both can be true 💅

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🌸 NAME 🌸

system-reinstall-bootc — reinstall the current system with a bootc image 🦋

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

system-reinstall-bootc <BOOTC_IMAGE>

that's it. one argument. one destiny. 🎀

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💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

so system-reinstall-bootc is this little utility that lets you reinstall your current system using a bootc container image. it's the interactive girlie way to swap out your existing system for a brand new bootc-based one, and the way it does that is honestly so thoughtful: it preserves SSH access and it makes your previous root filesystem (including user data) available in /sysroot. no cap. your old stuff is still there, just chilling in a new address 🫶

here's the whole routine, step by step, in order:

• Pull the specified bootc container image
• Collect SSH keys for root access after reinstall
• Execute a bootc install to replace the current system
• Reboot into the new system

after the reboot, the previous root filesystem will be available in /sysroot, and some automatic cleanup of the previous root will be performed. so like, it tidies up a lil on its way out 🧹

⚠️ heads up: existing mounts will not be automatically mounted by the bootc system unless they are defined in the bootc image. so if you're expecting your mounts to just show up on their own — nope, they will not, and that's not a bug, that's just how it is 💀

the vibe here is mainly "taking over" cloud virtual machine images, effectively using them as an installer environment. like, you borrow the VM, you use it as the install setup, iconic behavior honestly 👑

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• BOOTC_IMAGE — the bootc container image you wanna install (for example, quay.io/fedora/fedora-bootc:41). this one is required, no skipping, no "do I have to" — you have to 💖

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🌈 EXAMPLES 🌈

reinstall with a custom bootc image, like so:

system-reinstall-bootc registry.example.com/my-bootc:latest

boom. that's the whole thing. she's simple like that ✨

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🔥 ENVIRONMENT 🔥

• BOOTC_REINSTALL_CONFIG — this variable is deprecated. still listed, still real, but deprecated, so don't go building your whole personality around it 🙈

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💫 SEE ALSO 💫

• bootc(8)
• bootc-install(8)

go read those too, bestie, they're the supporting cast 🦋

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👑 VERSION 👑

v1.17.1

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and that's the whole page!! you just read a manpage, you're literally a sysadmin now 💅 stay safe, back up your stuff, and remember: the /sysroot girlies always find their old files 🌸

system-reinstall-bootc, section 8 of the System Manager's Manual — v1.17.1, mwah, love u, bye 🎀